Chris Pontius logged a wealth of airline miles last year, crisscrossing North America as he played a prominent role in D.C. United's hectic 2009 campaign with 8 goals and 6 assists over 40 matches in all competitions, numbers that only hint at the extent of his contributions throughout an impressive rookie season.
Those efforts won him the club's Fans' Choice Award and helped earn an invitation to tour South Africa as a member of the league's Generation adidas squad in November. Yet his biggest reward is the opportunity to kick off 2010 somewhere far closer to his southern California home -- the U.S. national team's January camp, which convenes this week at The Home Depot Center.
Head coach Bob Bradley and his staff have opened their final stage of FIFA World Cup preparations by gathering 30 MLS standouts and Scandinavian-based players idle during their leagues' winter hiatus. While many in the group face long odds of earning a plane ticket to South Africa come June, the invite itself represents a massive step forward for the likes of Pontius, who turned heads with his performances for the Black-and-Red in both domestic and CONCACAF Champions League play.
"Chris has done very well and it's something that we all strive to do, get a chance to play for your country," said United teammate Santino Quaranta of the January camp. Quaranta would likely have earned a call-up of his own if not for the broken metatarsal bone he suffered in the final weeks of the MLS season.
"He deserves it and I think it can help his confidence -- it can catapult him into another level and I'm really happy for him, because he's a great kid and I'm really looking forward to playing with him next year."
The national team nod essentially begins Pontius' 2010 preseason a month early, further trimming an offseason break that was already pushed back by the late-fall trip to South Africa. But the 22-year-old is unfazed by the extra workload and even found additional ways to keep himself busy while spending the second half of December at his family's home in West Covina, Calif.
"I'm not one of those guys who can just sit around and be lazy for a while. I've got a lot of energy so I've got to release it somehow," he said. "I've been out coaching [my old] high school team a couple times, and whether it's training with those guys or training on my own, I've been getting some workouts in."
The Generation adidas junket helped Pontius maintain the momentum from his debut pro season as he and his fellow MLS representatives, including his D.C. teammate and roommate Rodney Wallace, took on the reserve squads of South African first division clubs Orlando Pirates, Santos and Ajax Cape Town. The MLS selection carved out a 2-1 record as Pontius scored the opening goal of the tour and contributed in all three matches.
It also proved to be an unforgettable cultural experience. The group visited South African landmarks like Robben Island, the infamous offshore prison that housed Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists, and took part in soccer clinics for impoverished children in a Johannesburg township.
"We played with some kids who just don't come from the situations that we come from, and to see how some of these people live was just really eye-opening," said Pontius. "It was just a good experience overall down there."
But the most enduring memory might have been made in the final leg of the tour, when the squad made their way to the Cape Town waterfront to soak up the feverish atmosphere as the city played host to the star-studded World Cup draw ceremony. That night, the South African nation's long-gathering excitement at hosting the world's biggest sporting event burst into passionate celebration when the tournament's group-stage pairings were revealed.
"I don't think it really hit me until we were watching the World Cup draw," Pontius said. "Every country's name that was drawn, you would hear a little roar from a section [of Cape Town]. ... It was an amazing experience to see all those people focused on soccer. It was awesome."
Pontius is one of the youngest and greenest members of Bradley's January group, and harbors no illusions about his faint World Cup prospects. But he is nonetheless eager for a chance to experience international soccer for the first time.
"I'm always trying to push myself to another level and I can only control myself right now. So I'm working hard to get to the next level and if that becomes a realistic opportunity within the next couple of months, then I'll be very excited," he said.
"It's every kid's dream, growing up to play soccer, to play in a World Cup. So it's obviously a dream of mine too. I'm just going to keep working hard and prove I can get to that level one day."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
